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A Malaysia Airlines flight returned safely to Melbourne on Friday, having turned back within minutes of take-off after an engine fire alert went off, Air Services Australia said.

"There was an emergency declared, there was an 'engine fire' alert in the cabin. The plane proceeded to dump the fuel and returned to land and it landed safely at the aviation rescue sites," a spokeswoman at Airservices Australia told Reuters by phone.

Local media reported there were 300 people on board the Airbus A330 flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia Airlines was involved in two air disasters in 2014 with MH370 disappearing over the southern Indian Ocean last March and MH17 being shot down over Ukraine a few months later.

The incident could further dent confidence in the "technically bankrupt" Malaysian carrier, whose decline began long before the tragic events of last year.